Either you love it or you hate it !

Each country has its own culinary traditions, and what is perfectly edible in one place might be utterly revolting to someone from another culture. Some foods might disgust us for ethical reasons – think of foi gras, the rich, buttery liver which is such a prized delicacy in France, or the cruel product of the force feeding of a poor duck or goose. Others might just make us squeamish, such as the plump, yellowy-cream sago worms roasted on an open fire in New Guinea, or Mexican Tacos filled with sesos, i.e. cow or goat’s brains. So, what about British cuisine ? Are there any foods that might produce such strong reactions ?

Well, few British foods are adored or hated as much as Marmite, a spread made from the yeasty by-products of brewing. It is extremely popular in the UK (about 3,700 tons of Marmite are sold here every year, two thirds of which is spread on toast, which means about 600 million pieces of Marmite and toast).

Paul Hartley, author of the best-seller The Marmite Cookbook, says : "I just love the stuff, I use Marmite as a condiment ; to brush on vegetables when I’m cooking them ; I use it in mayonnaise ; I use it in vinaigrette ; I put it in pasta. It’s a bit like the salt and the pepper. It’s a great ingredient to fuse flavours together”.

However, if you don’t love it, you probably hate it ! The American journalist Bill Bryson defined it as “an edible yeast extract with the visual properties of an industrial lubricant”.

There are “Love Marmite” and “Hate Marmite” groups on Facebook, and even the Marmite website has been designed with those strong passions in mind ! In true British style, it even gives haters a recipe :

Marmite and Cheese Nightmare

1. Take a couple of slices of old bread and spread with butter.

2. On one of the slices spread your Marmite on top of the butter (we’d recommend 4g, or about the end of a knife).

3. Now attempt to mask the flavour with your favourite dead animal, scavenged from the side of the road (e.g hedgehog, cat etc).

4. Finish off with some rotten salad vegetables and close this vile concoction with the other slice of bread.

Either you love it or you hate it !

Each country has its own culinary traditions, and what is perfectly edible in one place might be utterly revolting to someone from another culture. Some foods might disgust us for ethical reasons – think of foi gras, the rich, buttery liver which is such a prized delicacy in France, or the cruel product of the force feeding of a poor duck or goose. Others might just make us squeamish, such as the plump, yellowy-cream sago worms roasted on an open fire in New Guinea, or Mexican Tacos filled with sesos, i.e. cow or goat’s brains. So, what about British cuisine ? Are there any foods that might produce such strong reactions ?

Well, few British foods are adored or hated as much as Marmite, a spread made from the yeasty by-products of brewing. It is extremely popular in the UK (about 3,700 tons of Marmite are sold here every year, two thirds of which is spread on toast, which means about 600 million pieces of Marmite and toast).

Paul Hartley, author of the best-seller The Marmite Cookbook, says : "I just love the stuff, I use Marmite as a condiment ; to brush on vegetables when I’m cooking them ; I use it in mayonnaise ; I use it in vinaigrette ; I put it in pasta. It’s a bit like the salt and the pepper. It’s a great ingredient to fuse flavours together”.

However, if you don’t love it, you probably hate it ! The American journalist Bill Bryson defined it as “an edible yeast extract with the visual properties of an industrial lubricant”.

There are “Love Marmite” and “Hate Marmite” groups on Facebook, and even the Marmite website has been designed with those strong passions in mind ! In true British style, it even gives haters a recipe :

Marmite and Cheese Nightmare

1. Take a couple of slices of old bread and spread with butter.

2. On one of the slices spread your Marmite on top of the butter (we’d recommend 4g, or about the end of a knife).

3. Now attempt to mask the flavour with your favourite dead animal, scavenged from the side of the road (e.g hedgehog, cat etc).

4. Finish off with some rotten salad vegetables and close this vile concoction with the other slice of bread.